New Genesis
by Archangel N. Bloodraven
Summary: Sixteen year old Lilo faces a host of new challenges even as a new romance blooms in her life.
1. Prologue

**Lilo and Stitch: New Genesis  
By Archangel N. Bloodraven**

Sixteen year old Lilo Pelekai smiled as she tied the last strip of white cloth around the trunk of the tree looking wistfully at the two strange creatures within the makeshift safe box, two genetic experiments of alien design. _But that's my ohana._ She thought whimsically. _A family six hundred and thirty strong._ "My ohana."

"Ohana or not," The larger of the two experiments said playfully. "meega gonna kick your patookie!"

Lilo just smiled at her oldest and best friend, experiment 6-2-6, known to friends and family simply as Stitch. "Bring it on, little buddy." She grinned, calmly drawing one of her two paintball guns from its side holster before turning to the smaller of the two experiments. "All right, Houdini, let's disappear." The smaller of the two experiments blinked happily causing the two paintball warriors to vanish. "Thirty minute head start." The human girl called. "Make it count!"

Stitch grinned, loping away into the woods, knowing Lilo was doing the same. He was with his Lilo and all was right with the world.

* * *

The disembodied laughter of two friends echoed in the evening air as two masses of green and brown paint approached the Pelekai home. Over the years it had undergone many transformations to accommodate the core family of Lilo, Stitch, Lilo's older sister Nani and her husband David, and the two other aliens, Doctor Jumba Jookiba, the brilliant reformed evil genius who created Stitch and his cousins, and Earth expert Wendy Pleakly, who had become more well versed in human mannerisms and customs in his eight years of what he joking called "forced field studies" even though he still served Thanksgiving every month, since it gave him an excuse to try out new recipes before the actual event.

"Okay, Stitch ," Lilo's phantom voice spoke as she moved Houdini from his perch on the unseen experiment's head to the porch. "Let's change out of these clothes cause invisible or not, we wear this mess into the house and Nani will have our heads."  
"Naga." Stitch replied, stripping off his jumpsuit and dropping it into a brown paint stained pile, as Lilo did the same, shedding her green stained coveralls as Stitch chuckled. "Pleakly would be first."

"Your English skills have improved." Lilo said, opening the back door and grabbing a terrycloth bathrobe hanging just inside and tying it around her middle. "(Houdini, please bring us back.)"

"(Okay Lilo.)" The shy little experiment said softly in Turian as he blinked, restoring the two contestants to their natural visible states.

"Your Turian and targeting skills are both improving." Stitch said, examining the multitude of paint stains dotting his outfit.

"Naga," She said, absently slipping into Turian. "I still took too many hits."

Stitch gave Lilo a deadpan stare. "Lilo, you're _supposed_ to get hit, and your agility is definitely improving. Every shot I took was intended to hit your chest, but only three of them did, one in the front and two in the back. Take a look at the rest."

The young Hawaiian girl examined her sleeves and pant legs and felt a little better. "I still missed you a lot though."

"Ih," Stitch nodded, tossing his suit into a large steel tub. "but that was mostly when I jumped. You tracked my lateral fairly well, but you're still not quite thinking in three dimensions, but you are getting better at it."

"Guess it's all the time I've spent studying for my starship license." Lilo replied, throwing her own paint stained clothes in as well adding some laundry detergent.

"Lilo, are you lolo?" Nani exclaimed, dashing into the backyard. "What are doing standing out here in your bathrobe?"

"Hey, you're the one who said no paintball stains in the house." Lilo said, turning on the hose and swishing the contents around with an old broom.

"Aiyah!" Nani exclaimed, grabbing the broom from her younger sister's hands and swatting her backside with it. "Just get some clothes on!"  
"I've got clothes on!" The younger girl exclaimed, dancing out of range of her sister's attack.

"LILO!" Nani growled, taking a sudsy swing at her smaller scrambling sibling.

"All right, all right!" Lilo yelled, ducking under the broom and scooping Houdini into her arms as she sprinted for her rooftop dome, with Stitch scrambling along after her as the lights flickered and died.

"Take my hand." Stitch said, blinking his black eyes an iridescent green as he activated his night vision and reached back to wrap Lilo's hand in his own. Lilo, for her part just clutched Houdini closer with her free hand.  
"(It'll be okay, my little one.)" She said soothingly in Turian. "(Jumba's generator should kick in and bring the lights back on any moment now.)" The little experiment shivered, but true to her word the house was soon filled with light and sound again as the emergency generator came online as the trio ascended to Lilo and Stitch's rooftop dome.

"_Little girl, we are to be having a problem."_ Jumba's voice came over the house intercom.

Lilo dove into her closet and pulled out a pair of well worn blue jeans as Stitch scurried up the wall and held the transmitter button. "How bad is it?"

"_Is island wide power failure." _Jumba responded. "_Is right up 221's alley if he was still being evil."_

"We haven't had an evil experiment in years, Jumba." Lilo said, throwing on a snug fitting black tee shirt, tight enough to allow her free movement, but not so tight that Nani would pitch a fit. "Contact Sparky. If it's in the electrical grid he'll find it."

_"Jumba is already being one step ahead of you. Have already contacted 221, and he is on his way here." _The former evil genius' voice held a note of pride.

"Excellent." Lilo purred, grabbing her boots and short black leather jacket before descending from her dome, the two experiments in tow.

Nani looked up from her supper preparations to see Stitch standing in front of her with Houdini balanced on his head.

"Nani watch cousin please?" Stitch said in the broken English he used when he was trying to be cute, or when he needed something.

"What? Why me? What about Lilo?" The elder Pelekai stammered as Stitch gently pushed Houdini into her arms. Greatly perplexed, she followed Stitch into the living room to find Lilo with the cordless phone pinned between her ear and shoulder as she laced and tied up her boots.

"So the generator's working properly then? Kicked right on, that's great." She carefully shifted from one foot to the other, so as not to scuff Nani's floor. "I've got a specialist on route to the power plant, so we'll try to get everything back to normal as quickly as possible. Mahalo for your time, Dr. Evans! Bye!"

"Lilo-"

"Sorry Nani, I was just checking in with the hospital, since they have the same emergency generator as we do."

"Lilo, why do I have to watch Stitch's cousin?" Nani exclaimed.

"Because Stitch, Sparky, and I are heading over to the power plant to see what caused this power outage in the first place." Lilo said pulling on her jacket and zipping it up.

"But how am I supposed to make dinner and watch him too?"

"Houdini is very small and shy, Nani, so if you just set him on the counter you can work around him no problem." Lilo crossed to the little experiment and scratched him behind his long floppy ears. "(Will you listen to Nani and stay out of trouble, my little one?)" The little experiment nodded and nestled closer to Nani. "Please Nani?"

Nani sighed in resignation, then put on a good natured grin. "All right Lilo, go do your thing. Just call if you're gonna be out past sunset, okay?"

"Mahalo, Nani!" Lilo cried, as she and Stitch dashed out the door before wheeling her motorcycle down the driveway to find Sparky waiting.

Nani tipped her head to the side, for the first time appreciating how cute the smaller experiment was, before pulling him into a gentle hug. "So little guy, you gonna stay for dinner?"

* * *

Nani looked up as Lilo's motorcycle growled viciously into the drive. _Not a good sign_. The older girl thought. Lilo's bike was one of her few treasures, and for her to pushing it as hard as she was, couldn't mean anything good. Stitch scrambled in through the doggy door and raced along the ceiling into the kitchen.

"Trouble's coming." He said ominously as he dropped to the floor in time to hand Lilo the bottle of iced tea he had retrieved for her.

"So, how did it go?" Pleakly asked in his impossibly cheerful voice. Lilo glared as she slammed down half the bottle of tea, and Stitch scurried around at her feet, quickly untying her bootlaces.

"Badly." She growled, slipping out of her jacket and hanging it neatly over a nearby chair. "They brought a new generator online down at the plant and it's putting out more power than the grid can support. THEN on top of that the idiot in charge of the project refused to listen to me and Sparky. He said we didn't know the first thing about electrical power distribution!" Lilo stepped out of her loosened boots.

"What!" Jumba raged. "My 221 not knowing anything about electricity? I must be quoting bigger girl here. Are you to be minding?" Nani shook her head. "Is he being lolo or something?"

"Obviously." Lilo murmured, as she finished her drink. Stitch patted her leg comfortingly before eating the empty bottle and ferrying her coat and boots back to her room. "At any rate, Sparky's drawing off the excess power before it reaches the grid, but it's still only a stopgap measure."

"It's okay Lilo. Let's get some food in you and I'm sure you'll be able to think of something." Nani said.

Lilo was about to answer when a a musical chime resounded through the house. "Incoming call from Planet Turo."

"Identify caller." Lilo said, heading toward the conference room used for intergalactic communication and pausing at a nearby monitor. "It's the Grand Councilwoman." Lilo moaned. "I have to take this."

"It's okay, Lilo. We understand." Nana said rubbing her little sisters back comfortingly..

"Greetings Madam Councilwoman. I trust you are well." Lilo said, gracing the tall female alien with a smile.

"I am, Ambassador Pelekai, thank you for asking. And I trust you are performing well in your duties?"

"I am in midst of handling a minor incident." Lilo replied, quickly outlining the generator problem and her own stopgap measures.

"I see. While I am loathe to call you away from your duties, there is a matter of some urgency that requires your presence here on Turo. How soon can you get here?"

"I'm not sure, Madame Councilwoman. My ship was damaged on my last trip off world and my hyperdrive was knocked offline."

"Not to be worrying, little girl." Jumba called jovially. " Not only did Jumba manage to get hyperdrive functional again, he is also installing new stealthy modifications to ship and encounter shuttle.for sneaking in and out of the atmosphere undetected. Is very genius, no?"

"Very genius indeed, Dr Jookiba." The Grand Councilwoman smiled slightly. "I trust you are behaving yourself?"

"Of course, Madam Councilwoman. I am to be walking the straight and narrow." Jumba said proudly.

"No more illegal genetic experiments then?"

"I am to be restricting my experiment making to my own flights of fancy."

"I can verify that, Ma'am. If Dr. Jookiba is still creating experiments, I've seen no sign of them."

"Well, then as the experiment's caretaker I'm sure you're most qualified. to recognize the signs." The Councilwoman smiled warmly. "So, regarding your journey to Turo, Ambassador Pelekai?"

"Well, Stitch and I can leave right after breakfast tomorrow." Lilo said. "if that's all right with you, Madame Councilwoman?"

"That will be most satisfactory. Have a good evening Ambassador Pelekai."

"I am thinking that went well." Jumba said. "Although I am also thinking that she may be knowing more about the 'Theoretical' experiment file then she lets on."

"Look, I told her the truth. I haven't seen any new experiments. As far as I'm concerned if I don't see them, they're just... possibilities in a folder. Now then, let's get some dinner." Lilo said, flipping off the lights and setting the communications equipment to stand by as Stitch joined them.

"Ah 626, before I am forgetting, I have a new upgrade for you?" Jumba said.

"Oh?" Stitch said raising a blue furry eyebrow.

"Is not strictly necessary, but will make you about same height as little girl." Stitch looked at Jumba in surprise. "Jumba is thinking, best friends should not to be stooping for hugs."

Stitch took a long stare at Lilo, before turning back to Jumba. "Meega... have to think on it."

* * *

Author's Notes: Not sure anyone's actually going to read these, hence their being located at the end of the story. Obviously, I don't own Lilo and Stitch. That would be the Disney company. Anything other than the original cast and the first 626 experiments are products of my own warped imagining. This is my first Lilo and Stitch fic and I'd really appreciate any feedback other than "This is cool, please write more." Tell me what you like or dislike about the story please. Next chapter is currently in progress as time and inspiration warrant. 


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Lilo lay lost in thought, troubled thoughts tumbling tumultuously through her head. Something about Stitch's new upgrades haunted her mind, robbing her of sleep. Stitch had always been smaller than her, with the brief exception of that fiasco with Short Stuff and assistant evil genius Pleakly, but now the thought of that changing filled her with a myriad of unidentifiable emotions.

Sighing in frustration, Lilo rolled onto her side lost in thought, so she could be forgiven for not noticing Stitch's silent approach to the bed. He looked at her curiously, turning Jumba's news over in his head, before reaching out to gently rub her back, a well practiced gesture that went unnoticed by the young Hawaiian girl. When she was little, he would often curl up with her and hold her fast against her fears and the night, and though her body may have changed, her distinctive scent of honeysuckle, jasmine, and gardenias was still the same.

Stitch ran his claws gently through Lilo's waist length ebony hair, a particularly soothing gesture that always calmed the young Hawaiian. Tonight was no different, and soon Lilo's breathing settled into the deep even patterns of sleep. Stitch carefully arranged the covers around her and then, with a last look at his own bed, he gently climbed over her body to curl softly between her breasts. With a happy sigh he, too, fell asleep.

* * *

The dawn broke warm and clear as Lilo slipped fluidly from her bed, carefully untangling herself from her cutely snoring companion.

_I do like holding him like this, but these days he feels less like O'hana and more like... Scrump_. Lilo thought, running her hand gently over Stitch's back with a slight twinge of shame. _I won't force him to change, but if he asks..._

Lilo let the unfinished thought trail off as she descended the elevator shaft to the rest of the house. "G' morning Pleakly." The teenager mumbled shambling over to the coffee pot.

"Good morning -SWEET MOTHER OF MARMALADE, YOU'RE NOT-" Pleakly's impassioned inquiry was cut short as Lilo clamped one hand over his mouth as the other wrangled her favorite mug, black ceramic with a red fanged smiley face and a drop blood in the front and the words "Bite Me!" scrawled in an eerie font meant to simulate dripping blood, out of the cabinet and onto the counter before she released the one eyed alien. "You're not going to planet Turo dressed like that are you?"

"Yes Pleakly." She mumbled caustically as she prepared her coffee. _Dark and sweet. Kinda like Stitch._ She thought. "I'm going to see the Grand Councilwoman in my panties and an oversized sleep shirt."

"Well, you don't have to be so sarcastic about it." Pleakly grumbled, moving about the kitchen as the dark haired Hawaiian sipped her coffee. "Breakfast will be ready in about ten minutes."

"You should know better than to ask me incredibly obvious questions before I've had my first cup." Lilo grinned, saluting with her cup. "I should go do preflight."

"I do hope you're gonna put on some make up. You've got these nasty bags under your eyes."

The younger Pelekai's eyes narrowed as the grin fell from her face. "I didn't sleep well." She ground out, crossing to a second elevator platform leading still deeper into the house. "Strange dreams, you know." She glared coldly as the elevator sank out of sight and a metal iris closed above her.

Lilo sighed as she stepped off the lift into the cool subterranean workshop and hangar area grabbing her lab coat off a nearby rack out of habit.

"Ah, good morning little girl." Jumba called jovially as he stuck his head out of his lab.

"I'm not so little anymore, Uncle Jumba." The teenager replied allowing herself to be swept up into a hug by the large four eyed alien.

"Nonsense!" Jumba exclaimed, carrying the giggling girl into the hangar bay. "No matter how big you are to be getting, you will always be my little girl." Jumba said with a last affectionate squeeze before setting Lilo back on the floor.

Lilo took a deep breath and let her eyes sweep over the familiar hangar, every line of every vehicle singing of the limitless freedom of the sky, and the stars beyond. There Stitch's stolen red police cruiser sat awaiting a recalibration of its steering controls. Nearby their old buggy was jacked up needing new shocks, and Jumba and Pleakly's old ship was opened up awaiting a new hyperdrive. And there on the launch platform was her ship. _My baby._ She thought fondly, letting her hand trail lightly over its smooth black lines.

When Stitch resigned his commission aboard the BRB 9000, Captain Gantu had been ecstatically reinstated to his former post. In gratitude, he had turned his old ship over to the young Turian ambassador, despite the protests of the Galactic Alliance, many of who said she was too young for the responsibilities of a starship, and the rest who claimed that recognition of her deeds merited an advanced star cruiser, not an old outdated model. Lilo had replied that the still serviceable ship had belonged to a member of her extended family and she already knew her way around. She had passed the standard permit test and was allowed to operate her ship anywhere in Allied space accompanied by a licensed pilot, usually Stitch, but either way the ship was hers. "So is my baby ready to fly?"

"Of course!" Jumba said indignantly. "Jumba is being evil genius, starship technician, and all around handyman. Although... something is to be troubling me. We have state of the art communications equipment with top of the line encryption protocols written by the Alliances brightest minds, and then Jumba is getting his hands on it and making even better!" The Kweltikwanian scientist laughed merrily for a moment, then sobered. "Point Jumba is trying to be making is, why go through trouble of calling little girl all the way to planet Turo?"

"Good question." Lilo said sipping at her cooling coffee. "I think it's one of two things, neither of them particularly good. Either the Grand Councilwoman believes communication lines have been compromised, or there's some threat that she feels I'd be safer closer to Turo."

"Little girl is being right. Both choices leave, how are you to be saying, a bad taste in Jumba's mouth. But Jumba is also thinking that whatever happens, it will all be working out for the best." The large alien said soothingly. "Now! Little girl should be getting showered and changed before you go."

"But the preflight-"

"Little girl, you have been doing preflight checks so long you can do them in your sleep and Jumba has been doing them longer still. You just leave everything to Jumba! Now go!" The larger alien chuckled giving Lilo a friendly swat pushing her back towards the lift.

"All right, I'm going!" Lilo laughed as she headed back to her small workshop between Jumba's main lab and the lift back to the house. She stuck her head in to check on one of the three resident experiments at the Pelekai home, Glitch, and found the computer terminal where he normally resides dark. "That's weird. Where'd Glitch go?"

"Glitch headed over to the power station to see if he could help out Sparky." Nosey said from his perch on an bench.

"Hey Nosey, what ya got for me?" Lilo looked at the small crimson experiment who brought her the daily news from about the island.

"I hear you're heading off world for the day?" The information gatherer asked. Lilo nodded and he continued speaking. "I'll have Victoria and Snooty do your rounds. Kixx dropped off Sparky's discharge batteries at the power plant this morning."

"Good. I want to help the people of the island, but I don't want any experiments getting hurt in the process."

Nosey nodded and tipped his head to one side as he tried to remember all the gossip that Lilo might find pertinent. "That's pretty much it, but I heard from Whoops who- er, anyway... I heard around that Tank may be having some dental problems."

"Right then. I leave the power plant in Sparky's hands until I get back. He has full authorization from me, standard rules. I want Tank in here so Jumba can check him out."

"You know he's not really crazy about you." Nosey warned.

"I'll deal. He's got 24 hours, then we drag him in. That being all... I gotta go wake up my copilot."

* * *

Several hours later Lilo's little black cruiser emerged from hyperspace and was cleared for landing on planet Turo, homeworld of the Galactic Alliance.

"Lilo, look!" Stitch pointed out the port window, where an impressive red battleship lay docked nearby.

"Wow... the new BRB 9000 X. Gantu must be here." Lilo murmured, letting her eyes trace over the ship's cool sleek lines. Her one time nemesis did not disappoint.

"If it isn't the little earth girl and the abomination."

"Hey Stitch, it's the big dummy and sandwich boy."

The two former rivals and their partners glared at each other, the experiments growled with all their alien appendages extended, then Lilo burst out laughing as Gantu scooped her into a spinning hug.

"You've gotten bigger, Lilo." Rueben said, grabbing Stitch in a one armed hug as Gantu lowered the young terran back to her feet. "Your head has officially cleared Gantu's knees."

"All right you two, spill." Lilo demanded. "What's so urgent that the Grand Councilwoman called us all the way out here?"

Gantu opened his mouth to respond when Rueben cut him off. "The GC is gonna tell her soon enough, big G. No sense in winding her up unnecessarily." The teenager opened her mouth to protest but the mustard colored experiment changed the subject. "Here kiddo, I found this great new cheese on a supply run in Delta Quadrant. It's only so so cold, but heat it until it melts and..." The sandwich making experiment began to drool slightly. "Well, I made you a meatball sub so you can see for yourself."

"Mahalo Rueben." Having resigned herself to the fact that she wasn't getting any answers yet, Lilo bit into the foil wrapped sandwich and chewed thoughtfully. A moment later her face lit up in ecstatic glee. "Oh Rueben this is..." The young Hawaiian trailed off savoring the taste.

"Yeah, the ads say it tastes like fireworks going off in your mouth. I thought it was just some clever marketing hype, but sister, am I glad I was wrong!" Rueben grinned reaching back into the cooler. "For my little brother Stitch, my spicy chicken salad, now with three kinds of hot peppers from the Olmec nebula."

"Oh..." Stitch looked at the sandwich that had given him his first case of heartburn and indigestion. Stitch had found he loved the feeling of perfectly flawed misery and enjoyed the meal at his every convenience. Rueben, to his credit, kept trying to make it hotter and hotter hoping to eventually reach a level that the blue experiment would finally admit was unpleasant. "Takka buddy." Stitch whispered before taking carefully measured bites.

"That's my bro, a glutton for punishment." Rueben chuckled. "Gantu, I made your classic egg salad sandwich, low fat as per your request."

Lilo paused long enough to raise an eyebrow at the large whale like alien. "Some of my uniforms are getting a bit tight in the middle. Not enough exercise." He mumbled before chowing down on his sandwich.

When the brief repast was finished Gantu stood to leave but Lilo waved him back down. "Don't go just yet, guys." She smiled and produced a Tupperware container from behind her back. "I brought dessert."

"Coconut cake!" Stitch called happily.

"Is your nose on the fritz, bro?" Rueben exclaimed slobbering. "That is pure chocolate!"

Gantu leaned down and took a big sniff as Lilo began doling out the precut slices. "Actually, you're both right, but is that chocolate syrup I smell?"

"All the better to hold it together." Lilo said, passing a quarter slice to each extraterrestrial and splitting the remainder in half for herself.

"Ambassador Pelekai, Captain Gantu? The Councilwoman will see you now." A page announced from the door of the private audience chambers.

The quartet looked down at the chocolaty mess they had made of themselves and found only one term quite fitting for the moment. "Oh blitznak." The muttered in unison before Rueben dove into his cooler and pulled out some damp soapy towels which the group hastily used to make themselves presentable.

"Lilo, wait." Stitch said, pulling the taller girl down to his height. "Youga got stubborn spot right there." He said leaning in close to her cocoa tinted cheek. Rather than just slurp it off like he would at home , the little blue experiment leaned in close and quickly swirled his tongue over the offending spot in a bizarre little kiss, causing Lilo to blush a brilliant crimson as Gantu lead the group into the private chambers.

"Thank you both for- Galley officer Rueben, you have chocolate cake on your uniform."

"Sorry Ma'am." Rueben said looking futilely for a cloth before slurping the stain off and tucking his uniform back in. The irony of this was not lost on Stitch who chuckled softly before regaining his composure.

"As I was saying, thank you all for coming on such short notice. Captain Gantu, anything new?"

"No ma'am. No addendum to my prior reports."

"I see, thank you. Ambassador Pelekai, I'm sure you're wondering why I asked you here today."

"Yes ma'am, I am." Lilo answered, nervously toying with her ruby earrings before forcing her hands back into her lap.

"Nine terran months ago, Dr. Jaques von Hamsterville effected his escape from the maximum security penal asteroid where he was to serve out the remainder of his sentence."

"Did he take experiment 6-2-8?" The ambassador asked pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Yes. The original 6-2-8, designated 'Leroy' by Dr. Hamsterville, disappeared from our science labs at the same time and security footage shows the two escaping together."

"Lovely." Lilo drawled sarcastically.

"There is more you need to know, ambassador." Gantu said. "A month after his escape, Hamsterville went to ground, eluding our searches. two weeks ago he appeared briefly on a merchant planet in Gamma quadrant."

"What was he after ?" The Hawaiian asked narrowing her eyes.

"The merchant said he took possession of this." The reinstate captain answered, sliding a personal display device over to Lilo and Stitch. "I suspect that is familiar?"

"Too familiar." She growled , glaring distastefully at the small silver egg mounted on a display base. "This is a storage system for dehydrated genetic experiments."

The Councilwoman resumed at this point. "You are correct, miss Pelekai. While we are conducting a full investigation of everyone Dr. Hamsterville has been in contact with in his career, we still have no leads as to his whereabouts or who could be producing these experiments for him."

"I assume Hamsterville's assets have all been frozen." Lilo mused.

"Standard procedure for this scenario." Gantu replied. "However if he's working through a proxy agent, one not readily linked to him-"

"It's possible that something was overlooked, hence how he's bankrolling this." Lilo mused aloud. "But why? Why go through all this trouble?"

"Revenge." Stitch said gravely. "We always ruin plans. Gerbil boy want Lilo out the way so he can take the cousins."

"It is a reasonable hypothesis." Gantu said, stroking his chin. "Hamsterville has always desired Dr. Jookiba's experiments and often Lilo was the only one standing in his way. Experiment 6- er Stitch is personally responsible for his apprehension and incarceration on at least three different occasions."

"In that case I have no choice but to ask that you remain here under Alliance protection." The Councilwoman said.

"Unacceptable ma'am." Lilo said crisply. "Now more than ever my place is on Earth with my experiments."

"You do realize hat you would be putting yourself in grave personal danger?" The blue skinned alien said with a frown.

Rueben piped up at this point. "Actually ma'am this could be just what we need."

"What do you mean, Rueben." Gantu asked.

"Think about it, Captain. The island of Kauai may be inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, but for Hamsterville, it's the most important place in the galaxy."

"I get it." Lilo said with a grim smile. "That inconsequential little island has over 600 of the things Hamsterville wants most. We may not know where he is, but we know where he's going"

"Are you suggesting that you use yourself as bait?" The Councilwoman asked.

"Exactly." The terran girl said, punching her open palm. "Everything he wants is on earth and that gives us an edge."

"You can't seriously expect me to just let you go-"

Gantu cut in. "Madame Councilwoman, perhaps if Rueben and I went back to earth with the ambassador? She would be under the protection of an officer of the Galactic Alliance, and I would be that much closer should our suspicions prove correct and Hamsterville does come to Earth."

"Captain, if this is about what happened all those years ago, I bear you no ill will." Lilo said softly. "Surely you can do more good here with the BRB than you can in some backwater planet in Gamma quadrant."

"Part of being a member of the Galactic alliance is knowing that you can count on the other members. The BRB has a good crew and a very capable first officer. They can continue field operations without me, although the BRB is quite noticeable."

"We can have our excursion shuttle transferred to the BRB." Lilo said with a sense of finality, as though the matter were already decided. "Dr. Jookiba outfitted the shuttle with the same stealth technology as the ship. You can go with the BRB to throw Hamsterville off the track, then return to earth with that."

"That... is acceptable I suppose." The Councilwoman murmured, her demeanor clearly showing her distaste for the idea.

"Rueben, I want you to go back to Earth with the ambassador."

"And set up a base of operations?"

"You know me too well." The captain said.

"If that is all, you are dismissed." The quartet rose and filed towards the door. "Oh yes, Miss Pelekai."

Lilo paused and looked back over her shoulder. "Yes ma'am?"

"There is one other matter. The results of your last licensing exam are in." Lilo held her breath expectantly as the Councilwoman smiled maddeningly before sliding a slim plastic card across the table. "Congratulations, Lilo."

"I passed?" Lilo gaped, staring at the license in awe.

"You passed." The Councilwoman replied, a slight smile teasing at her lips. "Your parallel parking could stand to improve, but all things considered you did... a 'bang up job' I believe is the terran expression."

"Thank you, Madame Councilwoman." The ambassador said, inspecting the little card more closely. "Your first name is Zoe?" The terran girl asked curiously.

"Er, well yes. In my native language it means 'fair, yet just'. It's a daily reminder of what I strive for in my position."

Lilo pondered this for a moment before extending her hand to the blue alien in a friendly manner. "Hi! I'm Lilo. I hope we can be friends."

Zoe stared at the proffered hand a long moment before covering it with her own. "I am Zoe. I think... that would be nice." The Councilwoman stepped from behind her desk and began walking with Lilo towards the hangar. "Our friendship will not be easy, Ambassador." She said, quietly reminding her friend of their professional relationship. "There are many in the council who believe that I have been showing you and your world preferential treatment."

"Remember 'Firm yet just.' Madame Councilwoman." The young girl reminded her. "At no point did I ever ask for anything more than Stitch."

"True enough, but why not resign your commission as ambassador?" The Councilwoman queried.

"I'm... not really sure." The brunette said. "Maybe going from a whole family to a broken one to my patchwork o'hana has made me realize just how alone in the universe one person can be." Lilo's eyes glazed over slightly as she stared out into the vast starry blackness of space surrounding planet Turo. "It's like looking into the abyss," She murmured quietly. "and realizing the abyss is looking back."

The pair fell silent for a long while before Lilo spoke again. "Madame Councilwoman, I may not be able to repurpose these experiments like I did with Dr. Jookiba's. What would you have me do?"

"I'll not have you bloody you hands on my account. If you can turn them as you say from bad to good, then I give you full authorization to do so. If you cannot, subdue the experiment by any means necessary and dehydrate it for transport."

Lilo thought for a moment about what would happen to those experiments. _I've become Gantu to her Hamsterville._ Lilo thought abruptly, then pushed that thought away. "Very well then, Madame Councilwoman. I bid you good day."

The Grand Councilwoman nodded in dismissal and watched with some amusement as Lilo scampered over to the two 600 series experiments, showing them her license. The look of elation was short lived as Stitch said something to her before ambling up the docking ramp, followed by Rueben. Lilo shook herself out of her horrified daze and scrambled up the ramp as it retracted.

The Grand Councilwoman couldn't help but smile as she returned to her chambers. "He must have told her she was driving home."

* * *

Author's Notes: Yay! I have finally managed to produce another chapter. Go me. Considering I have a full time job and write this out by hand on my breaks this is pretty cool.

Lilo became an Ambassador and primary caretaker for the experiments at the beginning of _Leroy and Stitch, _however at the end of the movie, she never officially resigned her commission and thus is still an ambassador. The Grand Councilwoman's first name is taken from her voice actress, Zoe Caldwell. I thought it would be interesting to show the pair in a not as formal light.

Let's see, in general responses to my comments. Many of you asked me to write more. I'm going to assume that those people didn't bother to read my author notes on the first chapter and are likely not going to read these either. For those of you that do, please I like feedback telling me what my readers like and dislike about my stories, so give me that instead of demands to write more. The chapter's will come out as I get them done, no sooner no later (yes curse me for having a real life) so all I can ask is that you be patient.

Some people have complained that I didn't explain what the various text variations mean. All my notes are here at the bottom, so by the time you reach them, I'm sure all my bright readers have already figured out that my typing one way means thinking and another means speaking in another language, most likely Turian, so really I feel this is quite redundant. Another response I got concerned the overall length of the first part. Yes, it was relatively short, as it was meant to be a prologue. I have endeavored to make chapter one longer. Did I succeed?

Anyway, I look forward to my new reviews so please, feed the review monster.


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